Bouside Ait Atmane’s encounter with dance seems almost the result of a misstep. From his first introductory hip hop sessions, conducted by Emmanuel Oponga, Bouside seemed to be made for breakdance and floor work, giving little hint that he would spend his life dancing upright. And yet it is in the vertical position, under the banner of locking, a type of dance closely tied to funk and spontaneity, that he came into his own as a performer, and later dance interpreter and choreographer.

Inside the circle – the center-stage of the battle – “Zid” gives a show of skill and force. In France and abroad, alone or with a crew, building on the energy of confrontation, he has developed a penchant for a direct language. This vocabulary gave rise in 2015 to Dans l’arène, a show jointly choreographed with Yanka Pédron, the other face of the YZ dance company. This piece for two dancers speaks to unmediated inspiration drawn from confrontation: alternating between workouts and moments of strife, it bridges the gap that traditionally separates battle and stage choreography.

Created two years later, R1R2 START was the first project written entirely by Bouside Ait Atmane. Here, the choreographer plays with digital coding and real actions in a courseware-like tribute to video game culture. This piece marks a “recovery point” in Bouside’s career, analogous to his interpretation of “Tetris” with the group Géométrie Variable.

Bouside’s projects give form to a unique choreographic intention that emphasizes musical gesture as a technical and aesthetic accomplishment, drawing as much on the pugnacity of the protagonists on stage as on creative chance.
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